The family of a West Malling teacher raped and murdered in Qatar have slammed David Beckham for his £150million deal to become an ambassador for the country.

Lauren Patterson's body was found badly burnt with a knife stuck in her ribcage in a remote part of the desert.

Aged just 24 her life was cut short by murderer Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah al-Jabr, who had twice been sentenced to death for the crime after being found guilty, but ended up having his sentence reduced to 10 years in jail.

After years of being "fed lies, manouvered and given lip service", Lauren's family, who shared a home in Leybourne Chase, West Malling, have opened up on their heartache.

"Seeing David Beckham become a face for the country pushed me personally over the edge," Alison Paterson explained.

"Maybe it's his PR company, but surely someone taking on a role like that, with a country like that, must know about some of the horrid things that happen there.

"Even his friend Elton John has questioned the decision, but it seems like they will ignore it and sweep it under the rug.

"When the World Cup comes next year the hysteria will take over and people will forget what happens there, the people who have died.

"It's a wonderful country on the outside, but when you dig below the surface it's not as beautiful as it seems."

Retired reflexologist Alison, 56, has called for the former Manchester United and England star to use his global fame and position postively and help make a change to human rights in the country.

She said: "The thing which really upset me is seeing him saying things have changed, when they haven't. There's no proof of that.

"He is one of the only people in the world who could make a big difference by speaking out. He must know about Lauren's case as it was widely known when it happened, but we've had no communication from him or his team."

This isn't the first run in the Patterson family have had with David Beckham, after Lauren and her father, who passed away before she died, bumped into the 45-year-old in an elevator while visiting Alison in hospital as she gave birth to her youngest child.

Only 10-years-old, Lauren was "in awe" of the footballer, who was visiting his wife Victoria as she gave birth to their first son Brooklyn, which makes the recent development hard to stomach for Alison.

She added: "It wasn't just Lauren who was in awe of him, I was too. He's always been someone I think people can relate to after going through the system, working hard, doing well for himself. Everyone can relate to that young boy who made it.

"But now it's like he is being managed through his whole career. With the money he's been given if he ploughed it back in to human rights or charities supporting them, that would be a wonderful thing.

"He is one person could make a change because of his profile, instead of being an ambassador this a brilliant opportunity for him to be an ally for people like Lauren."

'Can David Beckham hand on heart say the country is changing?'

Alison's partner Kevin added: "Even if he gave Alison a call, it would mean the world. Even if it was on the basis of not being reported anywhere it would mean something.

"But since it's been announced there has been silence and people declining to comment which makes you think they know something is wrong.

"Can David Beckham hand on heart say the country is changing its human rights record?"

Having exhausted their case against Al-Jabr in criminal court Alison and Kevin, 60, are now taking things down the civil court route, asking for compensation, and vowing "never to give up".

The pair are trying to raise £10,000 to pay off their current lawyer's bill, but are hoping to do some good with any compensation they get after admitting they can't "put a price" on Lauren's life.

Mother-of-three Alison said: "We're hoping to do some good in Lauren's name with any money we get, as well as pay off some of the costs we've racked up fighting this case.

"There has been two charities set up since Lauren's death so we really want to help them as much as we can."

The family revealed one lawyer they spoke to said they would have been in line for more compensation if Lauren had lost an arm rather than be killed, due to her inability to work.

Kevin added: "It doesn't make a difference as she can't do anything now. It's been a long process but we're going to keep fighting for justice."

The family admitted they were left heartbroken after Al-Jabr was given just 10 years in prison, and had even hand-delivered letters to the Qatar embassy and get in contact with multiple MPs about their case.

They received what described as "empty promises" to help them from then Prime Minister David Cameron and MPs Jeremy Hunt, Andrea Ledson and Tonbridge and Malling's Tom Tugendhat,

Lauren, a former Bullers Wood School pupil in Chislehurst, leaves behind two siblings, a 24-year-old sister and 22-year-old brother.

Her family moved to West Malling in 2013, having previously lived in Luxembourg, which is where Lauren was based when she returned from Qatar.

She had been teaching in the country for more than two years before she was killed.